Just For The Fun Of It

Day 3, Joggins N S, June 13

Day 3, Joggins N S, June 13

The Maritime provinces, also called the Canadian Maritimes or Maritimes, includes Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. Often times Newfoundland and Labrador are spoken in conjunction with the Maritimes. Together, all four provinces represent Atlantic Canada.

Today is the day Sharon and I leave PEI, and our goal is to visit the Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a UNESCO site just outside the town of Joggins NS. Here we will descend upon a beach and walk under 50-metre-high cliffs in search of fossils of plants and trees that grew millions of years ago.

But first, a momentary stop on the other side of the Confederation Bridge at Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick.

As we approached the river crossing ahead of us, we passed-by what I felt was an interesting composition. We made a "U Turn" after the bridge, and returned to this view.

Elizabeth, our Bed and Breakfast host, suggested we make a five minute detour drive off the highway, and stop at this church to get a panoramic view of Confederation Bridge.

Looking across Northumberland Strait towards New Brunswick.

Some bridge facts.

See you later PEI. We'll be back in mid-July.

It's about an eight minute drive across the
Confederation Bridge from Borden-Carleton PEI, to Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick.

From the Information Centre's parking lot at Cape Tormentine, Sharon and I set off on a brief wander out to have another view of the bridge from the other side.

A view from the New Brunswick side of Northumberland Strait.

It takes about eight minutes to cross the bridge, driving at the posted speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

A pair on the other side.

Lighthouse points.

We didn't wander too far along this trail. We were looking forward to what lies ahead in Nova Scotia and were anxious to get started. And so we did.

After leaving Cape Tormentine, Sharon and I continued on into Nova Scotia.

We continued along route 366 passing through Amherst, making our way to the shores of Chignecto Bay and the Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a UNESCO heritage site, just outside of Joggins.

Heading down to the beach in search of fossils that grew millions of years ago.

The beach is quickly expanding due to the receding tide.
Less than an hour ago these beachcombers would have been walking on water.

"Visible in the 50-metre-high shoreline cliffs near Joggins are fossils of trees and other plants that grew millions of years ago. The fossils--half-buried while alive, but still upright--have been exposed by the winter frosts and high Fundy tides that have cracked and eroded the sandstone cliffs."

Note: Copied from Reader's Digests "Canadian Book of the Road", A Motorists Guide to Canada .

Erosion of the sandstone cliff has uncovered a millions of years old tree trunk still in its upright position.

Snail trails on a tree trunk.

Fossilized bird poop.

Root holes in a fossilized tree trunk.

A modern day coal chunk.

And this is where the coal came from.

In the early 1800's, coal was mined along the cliffs we are standing under. In those early years, the extraction of coal and loading it onto waiting ships was slow and tedious, due to the methods used in those days.

The vessels arrived at high tide to collect their cargo, and during loading, the captain had to be wary of the water levels as the tide receded. He did not want to be left stranded on a dry beach, because without buoyancy, the weight of his cargo would most certainly burst the ship at its seams.

Old loading dock remains.

The cliffs with the coal seams are to the right of this photo and out of sight.

On the left face of this large rock slab are tire-like tracks that were made by a centipede 3 feet long and 8 inches wide. Yikes!

A model of the monster centipede.

After the guided tour was over, Sharon and I did some exploring on our own.

Remember what this is?

After arriving back at the parking lot, I snapped this photo of a wind turbine. The circles on the shaft indicate the different tide levels recorded on the beach relative to ground level.